It's a worthwhile watch. What they didn't stress is that, over the past few years, the :standard" US carry-on size has shrunk - and, at the same time, the "standard" suitcase design had become less useful.

In the US, the standard carry-on maximum size for most airlines is 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 x 36 x 23 cm), including handles and wheels (European airlines tend to have smaller maximums - in fact, our old 22 inch rollerboard "carry-ons" became our checked luggage for a Trip which included flights in Turkey). At the same time as smaller bags were required, the standard wheel/caster type changed from a pair of nearly recessed rollerblade wheels to the bag sitting on top of four spinning casters. While this made the bag more convenient to wheel on smooth airport floors, it made it more difficult to drag along the street - as well as raising the bag a couple of inches (and giving up that amount of packing space).

We have no shortage of luggage pieces, yet recently bought a new pair of carry-ons (cheap at TJ Max) which maximized thee interior space, yet exactly matched the maximum size allowed. Our "personal" bags are a pair of waterproof soft "duffle bags" with shoulder straps which can be squooshed into nearly any space.

We travel a lot (by any measure you might use) and, like most professions, tools are important. For checked luggage, I highly recommend this specific model of luggage (color of your choice): Samsonite S'Cure, Silver, L (75 cm - 102 L), Spinner - currently $171 on Amazon and, if you are lucky, 135-150 Euros in some parts of Europe. We have used these for dozens of trips and they laugh off an incredible amount of abuse. They are light enough that 50 pounds (23kg) fits easily, don't have zippers to break or get cut, are gasketed against water, are easy to maneuver and so on. They are available in colors that stand out as "your" bags and don't appear ostentatious enough to be theft magnets (in fact, I keep threatening my wife with polka-doting them with sprays of magenta and cyan Krylon paint to make them uglier).


I highly recommend Global Entry cards if you travel abroad.

Jeff